God's Armor, Not Ours - Part 3 (Belt of Truth)

A word about belts - they hold things together and things can be held from upon them. Now-a-days cell phones and other gadgets clip to our belt for easy access. Our belts today are also used to keep some of our pants up around the waistline. When Paul examined the Roman soldier, he noticed the belt held the breastplate firmly in place, the shield and sword were stored on the belt when not in use and there was even a notch for a lance/spear to rest. Mr. Rick Renner in his book Dressed To Kill, supports this notion by saying,

"Only the loinbelt will hold everything together for us, both as individual believers and as the corporate Body of Christ." (p.266)

"When you affix the loinbelt of truth onto the center of your life and faithfully ensure that it stays in place, everything else comes together." (p.268)

The soldier can remove his/her helmet shortly to shine it up so it blinds more enemies on the battlefield. The soldier can remove his/her breastplate to fix chinks in the armor. The soldier can do likewise with the shield, shoes and sharpening of the sword and spear in down-times. However, there are few times when the soldier can take his/her belt off completely. 

With the belt being the piece that holds things together and from which weapons are held, the belt is crucial for the soldier's organization, management and sustainability throughout his duty. 

For the Christian this idea remains true and who The Belt of Truth represents is critical in the believer's daily battles. 

Jumping ahead to the Sword of the Spirit a moment, I have seen and heard many teachers and preachers wave the Bible in the air and proclaim Christians need to use their Sword more to do battle in life when referring to The Sword of the Spirit or Bible, but this is an incorrect rendering of the original Greek. The original Greek for "Word of God" when referring to the Sword of the Spirit is Rhema or Revealed Word of God, while the Belt of Truth is God's written or declared Word of God - the Logos, The Bible. 

So the strong encouragement for all believers in Christ is know thy belt, know God's written Word, His Scripture before wielding a word of knowledge that is based on and in The Bible. Mr. Renner elaborates by stating -

"But if you lay aside your Bible (your 'loinbelt of truth'), in time you'll begin to lose your sense of righteousness. Lay aside that loinbelt of truth, and you will slowly begin to lose your sense of peace. Lay aside that loinbelt of truth, and you will feel the joy of your salvation begin to deplete. If you toss that loinbelt of truth out of your life, you will begin very quickly to lose your ability to believe God and to walk in faith.

You absolutely cannot function as a believer without the Word of God having an active and central role in your life." (p.265)

The red letters in John 14:6 tells us that Christ told us He is The Truth. He is not a truth or one truth among many - He is The Truth. He is the exclusive rights holder from eternity past to eternity future on who and what is true. The Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6:6-9 instructs believers to have God's truth on our hearts, impressed upon our children, talked about everywhere and at all times of the day and written on your hands, foreheads, doorframes and gates. This Truth, this Logos, this Word of God that is accessible to us as written instructions directly from the heart of God is then updated as a piece of armor in the New Testament that Christians can wear daily known as The Belt of Truth.